Minimally invasive devices are often employed for medical procedures, including those involving ablation, dilation, and the like. In a particular situation, an ablation procedure may involve creating a series of inter-connecting or otherwise contiguous lesions in order to electrically isolate tissue believed to be the source of an arrhythmia. Such lesions may be created using a variety of different energy transmission modalities, such as cryogenic freezing or heating with radiofrequency (“RF”) energy, for example.
Radiofrequency or other ablation devices often include one or more electrically conductive surfaces or electrodes to impart electrical or thermal energy conduction through a tissue site. During operation, the tissue heats up, thus heating the electrodes that are in tissue contact. Exceeding a particular temperature range or threshold can result in unwanted injury to the tissue site, including tissue charring or coagulum formation, and can also compromise the medical device itself.
In view of the above, it is desirable to provide effective cooling mechanisms for thermal or electrical devices to avoid excessive heating and associated unwanted injury to the patient.